SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - State police are investigating what they call a "suspicious death" and fire that was discovered about 8:40 a.m. Friday at a South Manheim Township home.
"The investigation is in its infancy," said Lt. Christopher Blugis, commander of the criminal investigation unit at state police Troop L headquarters in Reading.
"We're investigating a fire and a deceased middle age man," he said.
Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David Moylan identified the man as Gerald E. Hale, 46, who lived at 30 S. Shue String Lane.
Hale, according to neighbors, lived at the home with his wife, Catherine L. Covach-Hale, and their two children.
Those neighbors said that Catherine Hale was at work as a nurse at a local hospital and the couple's two children were at either school or day care when the fire started.
Gerald Hale was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:03 a.m. by Deputy Coroner Joseph Pothering, Minersville.
Moylan said an autopsy will be conducted this morning at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest to determine the exact cause and manner of Hale's death.
Firefighters from Schuylkill Haven and surrounding areas were called just after 8:30 a.m. for a report of an "unknown type fire" at the Shue String Lane home, located just off Schuylkill Mountain Road.
At the scene, firefighters were met with a fully engulfed home and a man, later identified as Hale, lying in the grass in the same area.
In a news release Friday evening, Trooper David C. Beohm, public relations officer for Troop L, said there is an ongoing fire investigation and ongoing death investigation.
Neither Blugis nor Beohm would offer any additional information about the investigation.
The fire was brought under control about 9:30 a.m., but firefighters remained at the scene on standby in case the flames would reignite while police were conducting their investigation.
Due to the rural area and lack of a fire hydrant system, two tanker task forces were dispatched, bringing firefighters from not only numerous other parts of Schuylkill County to the scene but those from neighboring Berks County as well.
Authorities said the investigation into both the fire and death is continuing.